Use of electronic commerce, virtual museums, digital encyclopedias and electronic catalogs using of digital media such as internet, CD-ROM, and the like continues to show an upward tendency. In those cases, in order to make visual approach to objects more effectively through virtual reality, it is necessary to offer 3-dimensional image as well as 2-dimensional image such as a picture for providing satisfactory 3-dimensional sense through binocular vision as if there are real objects in front of consumer's eyes and making it possible that consumer can select freely posture for watching or the direction of watching.
As stated, use of 3D contents increases gradually in order to achieve various purposes for offering education effect, practical information about goods, etc. However, a general method for offering conventional 3D contents is that after taking pictures of a photographic object (e.g., sculpture, product for sale, etc.) manually at numerous angles, an operator creates one 3D image by composition of photographed pictures or that an operator takes moving picture and offers moving picture file.
A method of generating one 3D image by composition of numerous photographed pictures has merit to be able to offer images corresponding to consumer's demand (e.g., spectator, purchasers, etc.), but it has demerit that a number of pictures has to be taken for generating 3D image, that it takes a lot of time to photograph an object, and that a process for generating 3D image is complicated. In result, it increases the cost of generating 3D image. Furthermore, it can often happen to restart photographing job from the beginning in case that centers of all pictures taken are not identical at the time of photographing a photographic object many times. There is another drawback that operating errors caused by the difference between the optic angle and camera lens' angle can occur.
In comparison, a method for offering moving picture file by taking moving pictures has merit that time for generating an electronic file can be shortened and that it is easy to create electronic file, because an object is photographed continuously by using excellent photographing devices and then one electronic file can be offered. But it has problem that consumers cannot freely get images from the angle they want. Moreover, there is limitation on advertising numerous products or materials since Web Server for offering file is not able to operate properly (for example, ‘down’, etc.) due to too large size of established moving picture file.
That is, a method for offering 3D contents based on conventional technologies has numerous problems such as creating cost, operating time, operating cost, consumer's dissatisfaction, etc.